Kirataka

Kirataka
Film poster
Directed by	Pradeep Raj
Produced by	Sharavana Murthy Shantha Kumari
Screenplay by	Pradeep Raj
Based on	Kalavani by A. Sarkunam
Starring	Yash Oviya
Music by	V. Manohar
Cinematography	R. Selva
Edited by	Palani Vel
Production company	Amigo Indirajal Movies
Release date	24 June 2011 (2011-06-24)
Running time	161 minutes
Country	India
Language	Kannada

Kirataka (Kannada: ಕಿರಾತಕ) is an 2011 Indian Kannada comedy film directed by Pradeep Raj, starring Yash and Oviya in the lead roles. It is a remake of the Tamil film, Kalavani (2010). The film was a success at the domestic box-office.

The film is centered around the rivalry between two neighboring villages with rival gangs in both competing in every aspect. Nandeesha (Yash), also known as Gooli is a road side romeo with no real direction to his life. He is flanked by his friends who support him in every act. Meanwhile, he falls in love with Nethra (Oviya), a girl studying at a college in the neighboring town. While Nandeesha is busy with his love life, one of his friends likes a girl from the neighboring village. To help him in the act, he plans to elope the girl and almost succeeds with his plan, but it is finally disrupted due to a problem in their vehicle. After this the rivalry between the two villages reaches a high with Nethra's brother vowing to avenge the dishonor. The rest of the movie revolves around how Gooly manages to win over Nethra despite the rivalry.

V. Manohar composed the music of the film and wrote the lyrics for six soundtrack, while the lyrics for the soundtrack "Dhanakku Dandaa" penned by Pradeep Raj. The soundtrack album has seven songs. The song "Dhanakku Dandaa" was notable for, its lyrics had the names of 108 villages of Mandya district, which was the backdrop in which the film was set in.

The soundtrack album was officially released on 9 May 2011 at the Le Méridien hotel in Bangalore.

Kirataka received generally positive from critics upon its theatrical release. G. S. Kumar of The Times of India gave the film a rating of 3.5/5 and wrote, "Armed with a good script, Pradeep, in his first venture, has selected a story with a rural background, a rarity in Sandalwood now, and has given it a comical touch with decent narration." and concluded writing, "Yash has done marvellous job as a village boy with excellent dialogue delivery and body language. Ovia is impressive. Tara is gracious. Sanketh Kashi shines in comedy track. Music by V Manohar is melodious while cinematography by R Selvan is good." Shruti Indira Lakshminarayana of Rediff too a 3.5/5 rating to the film and called the film "a breezy entertainer" and praised the role of the plot and the acting department in the film. On the negative aspects, she wrote, "...the film is just too long. Several songs are unnecessary and should have ended up on the cutting floor and not one is likely to make it to the top of the charts."